Rain on the Sidewalk
by Mandolina Lightrobber
Summary: Two people. And rain. Rain above all. [Amelda, Kaiba Seto]


**A/N:** One-shot written on a rainy day. A tribute to the rain, you might say.

**Disclaimer:** I know it. You know it. Kazuki Takahashi knows it.

**Warnings:** No warnings. You don't believe me? Well, don't.

* * *

**Rain on the Sidewalk**

Rain.

Large, heavy drops mercilessly pelting at the asphalt, roofs and walls, soaking the seldom walkers that hurries to sooner get beneath the protection of something more solid than an umbrella overhead. Droplets of water tapping on windowpanes, small rivulets trickling down the glass like silent tears, blurring the vision on the world outside. Dull, heavy clouds hanging above the city, masking the light and creating a dim, forsaken atmosphere. Twilight. Twilight even though it is barely midday.

Grey.

Grey is the colour of rainy days. Yet the owner of eyes as grey as the clouds above him did not think the rain was dull. He slowly made his way through the gallons of pouring water, not paying much attention to where his feet stepped. He carried no umbrella, a long dark coat being the only thing protecting him from the raging force of nature. Vivid red locks clung to his porcelain face, due to their wet condition looking more like strands of dark burgundy suddenly frozen into something thicker, something not so ethereal. Stormy eyes travelled all over his surroundings, for a moment catching on the gargoyles spewing out foamy gushes of rainwater, then moving on to the large drops pattering against the flooding wet asphalt and sending tiny splashes back in the air from whence they had come, before settling on the dripping leafage, only to gaze skyward in the end. There were millions and millions of drops and droplets coming down towards the earth. _A whole infinity_…

Amelda smiled slightly to himself. Rain made him happy. It was… _magical_, for the lack of a better and more suitable word. The redhead just walked on, letting the water from the sky soak him. He observed with interest how the rain blurred all the sharp edges, tuned down all the bright colours, and gave everything a softer look. The world looked almost innocent at this point.

And then… he heard it. Someone was singing. Coming around the next corner, he saw a girl about his age, skipping along the flooding wet sidewalk, swinging her unfolded sunflower-coloured umbrella, and singing some nursery rhyme. Wet hair danced all around her face, her feet kicked up spurts of rainwater in a distorted rhythm to the song, and an open beige dustcoat freely flowed behind her. For several moments grey eyes met liquid green, they both smiled simultaneously, and in the next second they had walked past each other, knowing that this meeting was a once in a lifetime thing and that they would never meet again. But for a moment though, they had shared the same space, the same air, the same rain, thoughts and a smile.

Rain was truly a beautiful thing.

* * *

_Rain_… 

Heavy, annoying drops rumbling against the metal roof of the car, tapping on the tanned windows in a depressive drum, making the world outside a gloomy place to be in. Irritating rivulets of water trickling down the dark glass like forsaken tears, blurring the already abused vision of the outside even more. Thick, sullen clouds hanging above the otherwise lively city, denying light and throwing the world in semi-darkness, forcing everyone to needlessly waste electricity.

Grey.

Grey is the colour of rainy days. Blue eyes darkened, watching the sight the black limousine carrying him home sped by. Strands of dark cinnamon hair hid the frown on his forehead, but could not mask the grim, slightly sullen, expression on his face. As his eyes travelled over the flooding wet sidewalk and the soaking wet people with and with out umbrellas hurrying to get under a shelter, his mind rested elsewhere. His thoughts did have a connection with the weather outside, though. The long, persistent rain had caused a heavy case of power failure at Kaiba Corporation, forcing him to return home early. It was midday and he felt strange by doing so, for the first time leaving his company while it was still light outside. In order not to waste time, he had decided to bring his work over to his home.

Seto frowned even more. Something had to be done about the critical state of providing power in cases such as this one. While water was needed for growth and survival of some certain things, it should be banned from where he was at the moment. He could do just fine without it and would not miss the cursed dampness that was always present after such rainstorms.

"Nii-sama!"

Nothing.

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba tried again.

Seto raised an eyebrow, indicating that he was paying attention to his little brother.

"Nii-sama!" This one was already bordering on a wail.

"What?" the brunette asked harsher than he had intended.

"You didn't hear a single word of what I said, did you?" Mokuba sighed and crossed his arms, feeling quite offended.

Seto opened his mouth to reply, but brakes creaked, tyres screeched, and the limousine was brought to a violent stop. Both Kaiba brothers were given a lurching jolt forwards. Seto was the first one to recover. He lowered the wall separating them from the driver and demanded, "What is going on?"

"My apologies, sir. It won't happen again."

"It better doesn't. Or I'll make sure you no longer work for me or anyone else."

"Yes…" the tanned glass panel slid back up, "…sir." And the limousine sped away.

* * *

Grey. 

Grey is such a deceiving colour, standing between white and black, light and dark. It is the fusion of good and evil, and can be viewed either way.

Rain…

Rain was still pouring down, large drops splashing against the flooding wet asphalted sidewalk, creating puddles for kids to play in later, gargoyles were still spewing out gushes of foamy rainwater, the raging force of nature still not lessening in either force or intensity. Yet something in the scenery had changed. The world seemed lighter all of a sudden. Perhaps it was because of the slowly retreating upper layers of the grey clouds that now let more of the sunlight breach through. Or perhaps the bright yellow and still unfolded umbrella in the middle of the road was the one to blame.

**The End**


End file.
